You might think that finding ideas for a book can be difficult, that the proper boost of inspiration will never get you. Even when I can see why you’d say that, today I want to show you how to simplify all your inspiration problems. Read this post and find out.
You want to be a writer, an author, the next J.K. Rowling. You daydream of selling thousands of books and having people all around the world enchanted with the characters and world you created with the sole power of your imagination.
But… you can’t seem to find ideas that are good enough or that are kind of … just meh… The thing is inspiration is a muscle and like every muscle, it can grow with training and consistency and the right resources ;).
Each person has a unique world inside their heads and souls which has been built up with life itself: people we’ve known along the way, experiences that we have lived, places we have visited and I could keep going.
Each mind is a world on its own and each mind is able to create new worlds, expand, bend, break the limits of reality. The possibilities are endless.
There are tricks and methods that can help you get your mind going, and in this blog post, I’m going to give you a few that you can start using right now!
- Studying people
- Facebook groups
- Reading
- Songs
- Research
- Visuals
Once you’ve done with this article, you’ll have a very clear idea of several resources you can use to get your imagination started, so you can get yourself a beautiful, sexy novel idea.
1.Facebook Groups
We all know Facebook unless of course, you have been living under a rock all these years. Facebook is a platform where you can find groups to discuss nearly any topic there is out there, including writing.
a.Writing groups
There are a ton of writing and writing support groups where you can discuss your ideas and get feedback from all the people out there that is or has been in the same position as you.
b.Theme groups
But it’s not really Writing groups the ones I want to focus on right now. Once you’ve decided the major theme, topic, or genre of your story, go to facebook and join groups that match those.
If you want to write a horror novel, there are a ton of groups about creepy places and creepy stuff that could give you a couple of ideas… for your novel. Trust me, I did my research.
If your novel is about… let’s say about fairies and goblins, I’m sure you’ll find one about those that can give you a good head start.
The power of these groups for inspiration is huge. People post a lot of pictures or stories, or even the comments that could give you ideas for scenes, moods, settings, etc.
Take those ideas, spice them up, twist them a little bit, explode them, and bum! you’ll find yourself with tons of juicy stuff or things you can include in your book.
This way, you can get to be part of a community that is truly interested in the topic you’ve chosen to write about. These people will become potential readers and you can actually explore what they like or not or how to approach certain topics.
2.Studying people
When it comes to human relationships and individuality, reality surpasses fiction and is the biggest source of material for your book, even if your book is about vampires and werewolves or talking bees.
What makes a reader truly connect with a story is the soul of their characters, the fact that they can find their lives reflected on the books… yes… even if there isn’t a single human being in it.
How can you do it?
Go to a park and sit down, take a break from everything else. Watch the people around you and try to make backstories for them, or better, make them characters. Give them a name.
Try to ask yourself:
- Where are they going? Where do they come from?
- What are their ambitions in life?
- Is there something keeping them from being happy? What is it?
- Who do they live with?
- Do they have a secret passion?
- Do they regret something?
Create a complete profile for the people around you. Let your imagination fly.
You can go ahead and write mini-stories for them. Give them life in your pages. This will definitely help you create realistic characters, with hopes, dreams, fears that people (aka readers) can identify with.
3.Reading
Reading is probably the most obvious way to get inspired. If you want to become a good writer, you have to read. A lot. Read inside the genre you’ve chosen and learn from published, successful authors how they have done things. Analyze the stories in your hands. Read as a writer. Not as a reader.
See the fluctuations in the story and try to apply the turns to the one you are writing. Of course, make it original, your own. Use the other stories as inspiration, nothing else.
4.Pinterest
Pinterest is another useful resource for writers. There are thousands of pins with writing prompts about all kinds of topics. Just go to Pinterest and type “writing prompts + (the specific topic you are interested in or maybe the genre you want to write). The ideas will come flying to you.
Here, you can find a lot of help that goes from the overarching idea for a novel to specific words for describing details, emotions, love scenes, etc.
5.Songs
Songs are a great source of inspiration. They transmit feelings, imagery, situations, locations, or just good energy. All great songs tell powerful stories that can be changed, explored, and twisted to fit your needs, the world that you are building and the characters in your book.
Many writers use this method to get inspired. For example, they listen to fast-paced songs if they are writing the climax of the book, or soft ballads if they are writing a heart break.
6.Visuals
An image is worth a thousand words. That concept exists for a reason. They truly are. Google things like “Most amazing places on the planet” or “Weird landscapes” and then go to the “Images” section. There you’ll find amazing pictures that come alive and offer a thousand possibilities to explore in the creation of new worlds.
Look for pictures that are distinct to you in a special way. It doesn’t have to be the one that is going to end up in your book, but exercising continuously the fine art of finding hidden stories in images will certainly boost your creative juices.
Take a look and ask yourself:
- Who lives there? Why?
- Do they live there because they have to?
- What could have happened here a thousand years ago?
- What kind of circumstances made this place the place it is in the picture?
And keep it going…
7.Research
Another important resource that actually encompasses all the others is Research. Put your mad scientist gloves, sit down in front of your computer and let your curiosity lead the way.
Try to find the uniqueness that is out there just waiting for you. There are thousands of stories waiting to be told in the most intricate, amazing places of Earth, so take your time and do some research. Find out how people live on the other side of the world, people different from you and your own culture.
Expand your horizons. The customs, way of dressing, eating behaving varies greatly from a village in the middle of the Amazon to a town in an Asian country.
There are many nuances and colors to this world that are yet to be discovered. Dig a little deeper and maybe you’ll find a story there.
8. The News, an endless source of inspiration
Look for bizarre, absurd, strange, and interesting news. If you feel like the newspaper is not for you, or you don’t have the time to look for an idea that way, use the news section on Google. Try to look for things you are interested in. If you want to write Sci-Fi you can search the latest news on science; and if you are into crime novels, you can get ideas from news on strange accidents. Take those news and tell the story your way, you’ll be surprised with the results.
Consider this headline I just found on the Internet:
“Adolf Hitler wins Namibia’s local election, says he has no plans for world domination” (December 3rd, 2020)
I had to read it twice. Of course it’s not the same Adolf we’ve read, or heard about. But imagine what would be like growing up with a name like that. Or imagine that this was the Adolf Hitler we know from history books, and that in some way… he’s back! It makes my ideas spark right away.
You can follow the logic of conspiracy theories and try to ask yourself these questions about the news you find:
- Is there some reason this piece of news could be a cover-up from the government for something bigger?
- Is that person really dead? or just in hiding to protect their lives and their loved ones?
- Was that accident really an accident? or is something else going on?
- Are the successful people out there really who they say they are? Is someone else responsible for their success?
- What would happen if someone found out what was really behind all of this?
Go as far as your imagination takes you. You could see the news as the end of the story, the beginning, or as one of the other main beats. Twist that truth as a candy wrapper and you’ll get yourself something juicy to work with.
9. Retellings
Everything that you can write has been written, there’s no other way around it. However, it’s the way you write it what makes the difference.
Borrow your favorite tropes or story lines from movies or books and write them your way. Give them a twist. It has worked before. There are new versions of old tales like Red Riding Hood or Cinderella not only in books, but also in TV shows; does “Once Upon a Time” ring a bell?
Imagine for instance, that Snow White was the villain of the story, or that the Sleeping Beauty slept for so much time that she woke up to year 3000. Let your imagination fly; perhaps the first ideas are crazy, but it’ll lead you somewhere.
Identify what you love about all those stories and use them again in your own, fun way.
10. Solve enigmas from another perspective
We humans like mystery and giving explanations to everything. In here, conspiracy theories also come into play. Is there something that you find intriguing? Solve it with your pen (or keyboard, being more realistic). Find a fantastic explanation to give a solution to that mysterious story you heard.
The options are endless. Consider for example the UFO’s, or the death of a celebrity. Have you heard about Paul McCartney’s double? Or Avril Lavigne’s?
There are people who believe that Finland doesn’t exist, and that it was invented by the government of Russia and Japan. Or that the earth is flat. And it gets weirder, there are actually conspiracy theories that support the belief that the dinosaurs helped build the pyramids.
These are crazy theories, but that can help you get awesome ideas for your book or at least help you unravel your creativity.
11. Ask yourself ‘what if’ questions
‘What if’ questions will help you ignite your imagination. They can lead you to fresh insights and maybe it’ll help you find that wonderful idea for your book.
The steps are simple: generate a ‘what if’ question, answer it and use your answer to generate awesome ideas.
Check these examples:
What if:
- …we weren’t actually humans, but beings from another planet who committed a crime and served a sentence for a long time on the Earth?
- …you could relive your memories, but could not change them?
- …our lives are a simulation program?
- …every person in the world had the same dream at the same time?
12. Find inspiration in history books
Sometimes reality is even more incredible than fiction. That’s why another tip to get ideas for a book is finding inspiration in historical events. Imagine for instance that the outcomes of World War I were different, or select a personality you find interesting and use them for your story. You can tell a moment from history from another perspective or include fantastic elements.
This doesn’t mean you have to write historical fiction (of course, you could). You could just base your characters on real people or the plot on events that really happened. For example, G.R.R. Martin found inspiration in British history to write much of the war conflict in his famous books.
Summing up…
I’m convinced there’s story inside everyone that needs to get out. Sometimes, that story needs some help to find its way out. You can definitely train your brain into creativity, make it explore all the possibilities and experiment with the “what ifs”.
Your brain needs the exercise, needs to wake up watch its face and stretch those imagination muscles. Consistency is key.
But… once you get your mind going and you get used to trying to find stories everywhere, it is very hard to make it stop and the ideas will just come to you, and it won’t matter if it was triggered by a Facebook group or by some research.
Try some of these tips and get that lion inside of you start roaring! Train your “inspiration” muscle and make it sexy.
Leave a comment and let me know what methods you use to get inspired, or if you’ve tried any of these before. See you soon!
If you need more inspiration, check this post!